The Fighter

Right from the opening credits, it occurred to me that I had been unnecessarily worried about Fighter. And in the final credits, there was nothing ordinary or transparent about it at all. The cast surprises with their escalating performances (not surprisingly, the beautiful Amy Adams dominates), the TV-style fights in the ring draw you in yet at the same time provide the necessary viewer's perspective, and in the end, even the perpetually screaming, "semi-redneck" storyline with the successful family gains deeper meaning and stops being a distraction. This boxing story simply works from the first to the last minute. Some mistakes don't have to be repeated. (25/02/2011)

A decent boxing movie starring Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale. I'm actually surprised I didn't get it sooner. It's mostly a drama about two brothers who have family problems and one of them is addicted to crack, but when Wahlberg gets in the ring, it's mostly something to watch. The final fight in particular was excellent. I enjoyed it, but it lacked the emotional impact to make a full count. There have been better pieces, but this one certainly doesn't fall short. 80%. (30/08/2018)

A family drama (in the sense of a “drama about a family” rather than a “drama for the whole family”) that is pulled out of mediocrity only by the excellent Christian Bale (in a role similar to the one he played in Harsh Times). Fighter is a psychologically believable and, in terms of acting, focused film that doesn’t bring anything new to the genre of intimate relationship movies and doesn’t offer any moments of a more dramatic nature. Mark Wahlberg’s role suits him due to his real-life background, but the film rather needed a real actor in the mold of Bale for that role. (28/11/2011)

In crack fumes and in the smell of peroxide on boxing Olympus. The sympathetic, if inconsistent, synthesis of the Royck genre film with family-social drama, which has little idea which side to be on more, and thereby prefers to do the sure thing. Thanks to Bale and a very juicy finale, sympathy wins above all, although the question of why Aronofsky reached for a more effective grease from Tchaikovsky continues to bother me. The Fighter is simply a more modest and sympathetic substance. And not just because it's got balls. (21/02/2011)

The Fighter is one of those films that didn't dazzle me until the second half, which is always the more important half for me. The beginning was just bland, but, like I said, the second half was better, especially the last fight. Christian Bale (whom I'll probably never come to like) played his role quite well, and from the female cast I have to single out Amy Adams and Melissa Leo. In short, it's not up for a Best Picture Oscar, no question about that, but the Bald Man would be a good fit in the hands of any of the actors (3 chances). (21/02/2011)